Supreme Court Refuses Further Enhancement of Land Compensation in Village Fazalwas

The Supreme Court has clarified that landowners in Village Fazalwas are not entitled to further enhancement of compensation beyond the rates established in its own recent precedents for the same acquisition.

In a matter presided over by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, the Court addressed an appeal seeking higher market value for lands acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The Court observed that the controversy surrounding compensation for this specific acquisition has already been settled in a previous reportable judgment, leading to the dismissal of the current appeal.

Legal Precedent Governs Compensation Rates

The Court noted that the issue was no longer res integra, as it had recently decided a similar challenge involving the same acquisition notification and villages. The Court, in its reasoning, observed: "The controversy is no longer res integra. In Krishan Kumar v. State of Haryana and others ( "2025 SCC OnLine SC 1043": 2025 CaseBase(SC) 887), a two-Judge Bench of this Court... considered the correctness of the compensation awarded in respect of the acquired lands situated in Villages Kukrola and Fazalwas under the same acquisition. So far as Village Fazalwas is concerned, this Court declined further enhancement and dismissed the appeals preferred by the landowners."

Court Directions on Payment and Disbursement

While the Court dismissed the plea for enhancement, it issued specific instructions to ensure the landowners receive the amounts already determined by the High Court. The Court has the following directions:

"The Respondent-Authorities shall forthwith, and in any case within eight weeks from today, deposit before the Reference Court the balance amount, if any, payable to the appellant in terms of the High Court judgement as affirmed by this Court. In case any amount already stands deposited but remains undisbursed, the Reference Court shall facilitate its release to the appellant without avoidable delay, subject to due verification and in accordance with law."

Background: The Evolution of the Dispute

The case originated from a notification dated April 25, 2008, issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, followed by a declaration under Section 6 in 2009. The Land Acquisition Collector initially assessed the market value of the land in Village Fazalwas at Rs. 30,00,000 per acre. Dissatisfied, the appellant approached the Reference Court, which enhanced the amount to Rs. 62,14,421 per acre in 2013.

The matter then reached the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, which adopted the 'belting method.' The High Court increased the value to Rs. 1,21,00,000 per acre for lands abutting National Highway-8 up to a depth of five acres, while maintaining the Reference Court’s determination for the interior lands. The appellant sought a further increase in the present appeal; however, the Supreme Court found the case to be squarely covered by its decision in Krishan Kumar v. State of Haryana and others ( "2025 SCC OnLine SC 1043": 2025 CaseBase(SC) 887), which had already rejected similar enhancement claims for the same area.

Case Details:
Case No.: Civil Appeal No. __________ / 2026
NeutralCitation: 2026 INSC 593
Case Title: Gopala Agri Farms Pvt. Ltd. v. The State of Haryana and others

Source: 2026 CaseBase(SC) 504